His critics dismiss him as a philistine who watches American blockbusters, listens to Elvis on his iPod while jogging and worships the ageing French rocker Johnny Hallyday.

But Nicolas Sarkozy is to make his first grand gesture to the cultural elite on Monday when he invites the world's top architects to advise him how to leave his mark on France's modern landscape.

The British architect Norman Foster, whose landmarks range from Berlin's Reichstag dome to London's "Gherkin", and Richard Rogers, who co-built Paris's Pompidou Centre, will join 15 international stars such as the Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid and France's Jean Nouvel to brief the president on stamping his imprint on his cities' skyscapes.

Despite the success of a few French star architects and some projects in Paris, Marseille and Nantes, the French building scene has been stagnating in recent years, lagging behind the buzz and creativity of Spain, Britain and Switzerland.

Mr Sarkozy is aware of the power of architecture to shape a French president's image. François Mitterrand left a legacy of "grands projets" including the Louvre Pyramid and the Arche de La Défense. But Jacques Chirac left only one architectural legacy: Jean Nouvel's new museum to African and Asian art at Quai Branly.

While Mr Sarkozy was this week attacked by the arts world over funding cuts and viewing culture only in terms of ticket office takings, his advisers are hoping to use architecture to reassert his place on the creative scene.

The Élysée has been tight-lipped over whether the president will hint at any grands projets of his own when he delivers a speech to the architects on Monday. Speculation has centred on plans for the Île Seguin, an island in the Seine three miles downstream from the Eiffel tower, which was once home to a vast Renault factory. The island has been the subject of several rows and disappointments over hosting vast modern art centres and Mr Sarkozy is reported to favour turning it into the world's biggest sculpture garden.

The president has invited the world's top architects to accompany him to Monday's opening of Paris's €80m City of Architecture museum, a shrine to France's architectural heritage whose exhibits span plans from the 11th century to the reproduction of a futuristic 20th century Le Corbusier apartment. The museum, plagued by delays for more than 10 years, is intended to symbolise a new dawn in French architectural debate.

Richard Rogers told the Guardian: "It's great that President Sarkozy is continuing the French tradition of being directly involved in improving the quality of the built environment."

Mr Nouvel, France's leading architect who created major projects for both Mr Mitterrand and Mr Chirac, said: "I think it will be a highly symbolic day - it's important to be part of the public debate where the president will express his intentions. He wanted representatives of world architecture to be around him and I think it's interesting with regard to what happened in recent decades when French presidents have been very present in architecture."

Asked if he was optimistic that Mr Sarkozy would promote innovative architecture, he said: "I'm always optimistic. I hope it will be a chance to address the most pressing French architectural questions.

"That means looking at what role architects can play in advising on the banlieues [France's troubled suburban estates] and other issues like sustainable development."

Rafaël Magrou, an editor of Techniques and Architecture magazine, said: "If the president's meeting with architects shows a new government awareness that the quality of architecture and buildings are crucial for France, that is a good thing.

"Until now, France has been behind in terms of creativity and designing public space, and there are lessons it could learn from Spain, Italy and Switzerland."